December 3, 2025 | written by James Smith

Consistent food access is a persistent issue, particularly in low-income rural communities. Food pantries play a critical role in ensuring that the most underserved populations have access to the food they need. Food pantries have a simple yet important mission – provide food to those who need it at no cost.

Despite the simple vision, achieving that vision can be a complex, expensive, and time-consuming process. Infrastructure and capacity limitations often determine how much food a pantry can distribute, as many rely on donations of bulk food and require cold storage to hold large amounts of fresh foods like produce and meats.  

This summer, Croatan Institute worked with Henry County Food Pantry to address an infrastructure challenge.  

Henry County Food Pantry (HCFP) is in Bassett, Virginia, serving the broader Henry County region as the primary food pantry in the area. The pantry works with a large volunteer network to distribute food to over 300 families each week. That number has increased with recent cuts to the SNAP program. 

With support from Croatan Institute, HCFP was able to secure funding through the Appalachian Regional Food Business Center’s Business Builder Subaward program to install a 45-foot split fridge/freezer unit, dramatically increasing the amount of cold storage space at the pantry.  

This grant was reimbursable, so the pantry was able to secure a forgivable bridge loan from a local foundation which allowed them to cover upfront costs totaling around ~$100,000 for the installation of the unit. This financial model will free up money for other programmatic needs once the grant funds are reimbursed. Organizations that receive reimbursable grants often face barriers to securing upfront funding needed to float the initial costs and must seek bridge capital to span that gap. An increasing number of bridge loan products are offered by CDFIs, state government agencies, or other organizations. Croatan Institute plays a critical role in identifying flexible capital solutions that work for our partners.     

James Smith, an Associate at Croatan Institute and farmer in Virginia, was recently at HCFP when they received a semi-truck load of iceberg lettuce from California that was rejected by a grocery store in Roanoke. After calling over 20 food pantries in the region, the truck driver connected with HCFP, who, thanks to the recent cold storage upgrade, was able to accept the whole load and prevent it from going to a landfill. Simple investments in infrastructure often pay huge dividends to local communities. 

From Sharon Mills, the pantry director: “Special thanks to James Smith and Croatan Institute for assisting Henry County Food Pantry to achieve a new level of service for both our partner feeding programs and the families we each serve, while reducing waste.  This project was much larger than we felt we could handle on our own although we could see the need and the benefit.  James went above and beyond by meeting with us in person and guiding us through the process.  Thousands of individuals have already benefited from the installation of the new unit just 2 months ago.” 

For organizations who are working in distressed areas, funding for infrastructure upgrades is hard to come by, a challenge that is compounded by recent cuts to federal USDA programs that support food access organizations. Programs such as the Local Food Purchase Assistance (LFPA) program provide food hubs and food banks dollars to purchase food from local farmers.  Without funds to support critical wholesale purchasing, farmers lose a guaranteed market for their products and communities lose access to fresh, healthy food.   

Organizations like Croatan Institute are stepping in during these stressful times to help farmers and food pantries seek alternative financing to continue distributing food. Consider donating just $50 this holiday season to help us reach more rural communities.